Behind Their Backs
by Once In A Blue Mood
Summary: Emily has a boyfriend. Gideon has a crush. If they can put their loves aside, can they learn to love each other?


Inhale, exhale, repeat. "Okay. I can do this," Gideon told himself. It had been a year since the crazy summer of 2012, and the young Pines twins were back in Gravity Falls.

Gideon's heart fluttered. "Mabel's back in Gravity Falls." Being only a child, his jail sentence had only lasted a few months. In the time since then, he tried his best to correct himself. And part of that was apologizing to, and making up with, Mabel.

Gideon strode off the bus he had been sitting on, and he looked up to see the Mystery Shack in sight. Confident that he had matured enough for Mabel to want him back, he entered the shack.

His heart skipped a beat.

The first person to catch his eye in the shack, was not Mabel, no, but a mysterious girl on her phone in front of him. She was both twice his height and his age, but she was the most beautiful woman Gideon had ever seen in his life. His cheeks flushed pink and his hands shaked, almost dropping the present he had prepared to give to Mabel.

Her green eyes flicked upwards, lingering just a millisecond too long on Gideon's awestruck face, before returning to the brightly lit screen. Trying to seem as if he hadn't been staring, he casually strolled to one of the shelves stock full of overpriced knick knacks to hide his face.

Hey, Gideon! Whatcha doing here?" Oh no. The person he least wanted to see right now.

Mabel's long hair was tucked behind a clip, and her ever-present smile showed her teeth, pure white but without braces. Oh. So they had been removed, and from what Gideon could tell, she was a tad taller.

But it was still the same old Mabel.

Um, hello?" Mabel waved her hand dramatically in front of his face when he didn't immediately answer. Still in a trance from before, he was on autopilot when his face lit up and he confidently and earnestly remarked, "Why hello there Mabel! Been an awfully long time since I've seen y'all! I know we've had our bickerings, but I hope witha new summer, we can overcome that!"

He handed over the gift, and her bright smile matched his own. It was a silver necklace (with no magic, he promised; she was both disappointed and relieved) that she put immediately around her neck. They chatted for a few minutes, mostly catching up over the past school year, until Mabel was called over by Soos to help with stocking the shelves. She promised not to tell anyone he was in the shack, and skipped away to help her friend and her brother.

Gideon was about to turn to go, until he noticed that the girl he had seen earlier was leaving the building, seemingly separate from the family she had been standing with. Gideon speed walked to catch up with her, until they were awkwardly walking at the same pace, in silence.

Deciding to be brave, and not wanting to miss his chance, he started a conversation. He turned to her and held out his hand to shake. "Nice to meet you, the name's Gideon!" The girl grimaced and hesitantly held out her hand. He took this as a good sign. "You're a tourist, aren'tcha? What're you here for?" She was confused as to why he was interested, but she was bored with nothing better to do, so she decided to humor him. She told him how she didn't want to be here, but her younger sister had been desperate to come. Her sister, apparently, was obsessed with Gravity Falls, and was a part of a religion whose god was rumored to inhabit this town.

In turn, he began explaining a bit of his own life, including some of the (believable) details from the previous summer. They continued their conversation on the porch steps until the sun began to set, and the girl, who's name Gideon found out to be Emily, had to head back to the hotel her family was staying at for the next few days.

That night, Gideon tried hard to think of Mabel. "I finally have another chance with her!" He recited to himself while laying in bed, awake.

But as his eyes closed for the final time of the night, the only eyes in his mind were green.

Morning came, and Gideon left the house to wander the streets. He had no performances that day, and with no friends, let alone plans, he wasn't sure what to do. He considered going back to the Mystery Shack, but there was no need. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Emily's sister down the street, apparently taking a video. Emily and the rest of her family trailed behind, and they all head into the arcade.

Making sure he had money for coins, Gideon walked in after them, taking a place at one of the machines. He gradually started playing each game and moving to the next, so that when he'd lose he'd be a game closer to the one Emily has situated herself at. Before long, they were competing against each other in Mario Kart. She was a lot better, but he laughed off the losses.

For the tenth or eleventh time, the ending music played, and the characters drove around the track as the results were posted on the screen. For the first time since they had met, Emily genuinely smiled at Gideon. All he could do was smile back. She gave him her number, and walked away to talk with her two sisters.

Later that day, he texted her to confirm it was really her number. It was, and he asked her if she wanted to come to the performance the next day. She agreed, saying she most likely would have anyway.

Standing behind the curtains, he was nervous. But it hadn't been the first time, so he steeled himself and prepared for the show. As the curtains opened, he bounded across the stage, singing a song he made up based on the members of the audience, and there they sat, enraptured in his music, as if they had never felt betrayed by him. A standing ovation resulted, and Gideon basked in the glory, but his eyes were only peering through green.

Emily was clapping in front of the stage, just as delighted as the rest of the crowd. Up on the stage, Gideon stood a few inches higher than Emily. Finally at eye level, with the audience still cheering in the background, Gideon pulled Emily in for a short and sweet kiss.

Emily looked up at Gideon from his arms and smirked. "I have a boyfriend back home, you know."

Gideon smirked back. "Darlin', he doesn't need to know."


End file.
